Perez Upsets Diaz While Eric Tudor Wins a One-Sided Decision
After receiving a controversial scorecard, junior welterweight Jesus Perez (25-5, 18KO) scored the upset victory over Joseph “Jo Jo” Diaz (33-5, 15KO).
From the opening round, Diaz attacked the body early and often. He fought well off the front foot, behind an educated jab and did a good job of being defensively sound. Yet, Perez was a live dog and came to fight. He was successful in landing good countershots. The Mexican caught a rhythm and threw combinations of punches to overwhelm the former champion.
Things got tense as the fight went into the middle rounds. A frustrated Jo Jo was deducted a point after pushing Perez into the ropes in the fifth round.
It was the high octane work-rate of Perez versus the punch accuracy of Diaz that had the fans screaming in a frenzy. Perez fired off with a flurry of shots, finishing the rounds strong. Yet, Diaz landed the more eye-catching shots to take over the fight in the closing rounds.
One judge saw it 95-94 for Diaz, and the other two judges had it 96-94, 99-90 for Perez. That last score was egregious and doesn’t reflect how close of a fight it was.
ERIC TUDOR PITCHES A SHUTOUT AGAINST LUIS RAMOS
Looking to bounce back from his first professional defeat, junior middleweight Eric Tudor (10-1, 6KO) pitched a shutout against Luis Ramos (7-3-1, 7KO).
Tudor fought smart and composed while using the jab to set up an offensive flurry. Furthermore, he used footwork and angles to keep the fight at mid-range. Ramos tried to get inside, but the young prospect would rip off sharp combinations and finish with a body shot.
Tudor was in total control of the fight as he started opening up more offensively. The Floridan did a good job of fighting tall and was landing different variations of the right hand as Ramos threw wild shots out of desperation.
As the fight was coming to a close, Tudor picked up the pace and dealt out a one-sided beatdown en route to unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight 80-72. This was a good showing for the young prospect, who showed he learned from that defeat and still has a future in the division.
